There is a demand for display devices which are decorative or serve to both advertise and decorate.
Display devices which capture the viewer's attention and, preferably, command viewer interaction, are highly sought after in the marketplace.
There are known devices which serve as article dispensers and display means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,122 to Poynter discloses an article dispensing package which includes a backing sheet and a blister piece combined to simulate a gum ball vending machine. A molded, irregularly formed blister piece retains a number of gum balls and simulates a conventional gum ball machine. A rotatable knob dispenses individual gum balls from the pointer display package.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,256,634 to Mace discloses an animated dispensing book package, by which a reader of the book may operate a dispenser actuator for ejecting an object, for example a simulated golden egg from an illustration of a goose accompanying a short story such as "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg."
U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,254 to Goldfarb discloses a toy gum ball machine into which a coin must be deposited in order for a user to be able to actuate a gum ball dispensing valve. The dispensed gum ball must move along a tortuous passage before exiting the machine. Preferably, different exits having different score values associated therewith, are provided to heighten the amusement value of the toy.
Although the above described devices undoubtedly work, there is a need for a display device having an article dispenser which is relatively uncomplicated to manufacture and to use, and which avoids the drawbacks of the complex prior art dispensers.